George P., a 48-year-old man from Medford, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), has been indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury in Boston. This means that if he has a court-appointed lawyer, he or she had best be “superior court certified”. Somehow, though, given the charges…the Department of Probation may not find him indigent.

He is charged with stealing millions of dollars from former employers and covering those thefts by overbilling his clients. Specifically, the charge is four counts of larceny over $250 and procurement fraud. When he was arraigned in district court in December, he was released on $25,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned in superior court later this month.

Unbeknownst to the Defendant, the attorney general’s office had been investigating him for months. They were looking into his actions while under the employment of two construction management companies. The Commonwealth claims that, while serving as vice president of a company in the Greater Boston area, he “routinely submitted reimbursement requests that contained fake receipts, invoices, and correspondence.”

The company allegedly relied on the Defendant’s documentation and paid him several million dollars in reimbursements from 2007 until his departure in January 2009.
To hide the thefts, the Commonwealth claims that he subsequently overbilled two clients that used the construction services of his former employer. Investigators allege the bills in question contain “falsified expenses and labor that roughly equal” the amount he stole from his former employer.

The Defendant was terminated from the construction company and then was hired at a second company that offered to reimburse him for moving expenses. A creature of habi perhaps, he is alleged to have stolen a total of $15,000 from the new employer by submitting fraudulent expense reports and invoices for moving expenses that he did not actually incur.

White collar prosecutions such as this one rely greatly on paperwork. However, what sets them off is suspicion. That suspicion can come almost from anyone and anywhere. It sets off a chain reaction which can easily focus upon you as a result of many things including someone trying to remove themselves from the spotlight, idle gossip or misunderstood paperwork.

Generally, if the amount at issue is enough (at least $250), the crime is a felony and can be indicted. These days, that often means jail or state prison…notwithstanding a lack of criminal record.

Often, the lack of experience in the criminal justice system can be used against you in these matters. Suddenly, investigators show up at your doorstep to simply “talk” to you. Before you know it, they have a bunch of statements that, when presented in the right light, seem to implicate you.

They don’t even bother to thank you for making their case for them.

In this case, since the United States Mail Service was involved, it could have been prosecuted in Federal Court…so, in that sense, the Defendant is lucky.

Treat any such investigation, or rumor of same, seriously. Protect yourself. My suggestion is that you retain an experienced criminal defense attorney to do what can be done to prepare and defend you.

Should you have a case which concerns you or a loved one, and you want to discuss it with me, please feel free to contact me at 617-492-3000.

Some Select Cases are referred to other attorneys for principal responsibility

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